Laura Demeri

Laura Demeri is the founder of Believe Movement Studio. She has her Masters Degree in Exercise Science and Nutrition, Chef training from the Natural Gourmet Institute and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine and Power Pilates. She believes movement in any form brings awareness of the mind, body and spirit. She knows it’s a privilege to witness her students make this connection and the transformation that is destined to follow.  The dream of opening her own studio started back in 1993 when at the end of every long and arduous month as an Accountant the $1M question was “what would you do if you won the lottery?”.  To see it come to fruition; especially in the Woodlawn neighborhood has been absolutely amazing.      She is humbled and inspired by everyone that attends classes at Believe Movement Studio and appreciates the courage it takes to just walk in the door.

Rae Minten

Rae was initially encouraged to try yoga by a friend who suggested that it would help improve her posture. The experience was love at 1st class for Rae. After 19 years of practice, yoga has come to hold a central place for her, offering guidance and support in her emotional and spiritual life as well as her physical well-being. Wanting to share the amazing gifts of yoga, Rae completed a 200+ hour teachers training at Prananda Yoga in spring of 2007 and is a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance.  In the fall of 2008, she became a certified Pilates Mat instructor with the Pilates Method Alliance.  Feb. of 2009, Rae studied with Judith Lasater becoming a certified Relax and Renew® Trainer.  She is currently involved in her second 200-hour teachers training at One Song Yoga.  Endlessly fascinated with the power and healing qualities of the breath, Rae explores a variety of pranayama (breath work) in her classes. Throughout her practice, Rae encourages you to move towards a place of health, personal acceptance and growth in a safe and tranquil environment.

Stephanie Dowell

Stephanie has been a student of Yoga since 2002, when she participated in a class to satisfy her college physical education(PE) credit.  From the moment she began class, she immediately felt the many benefits and blessings that yoga brings to one’s life. Having tried many ways to cope with pain caused by scoliosis, Yoga allowed her to minimize the effects by strengthening her back and increasing her flexibility.Working 10+ years in corporate Human Resources Management and being a single parent, she is a firm believer that asanas, meditation and breath work can assist individuals that are coping with stress andanxiety. You will often hear her encourage people; even strangers, to give Yoga a try!   Her motto is: “Yoga is better than happy hour!” Anyone can participate in Yoga; there are multiple levels for every pose.  It’s all about where your body can take it. Stephanie knew that one day she would become a Yoga Instructor.  After 7 years, she achieved her dream.  In 2009, she concluded her training and obtained her certification at Prananda Yoga, with director Joy Wolfe.  She is very excited to help bring Yoga into other’s lives.   Everyone is welcome to join her!

Sarah Rosenberg Brown

Sarah is a fully certified STOTT Pilates instructor and has been teaching Pilates since 2004. Having worked with many clients with special health concerns and physical limitations Sarah is skilled at designing Pilates routines tailored to meet individuals’ needs and fitness goals.  Sarah enjoys finding new ways to challenge her clients physically while supporting and encouraging them to stick with their program. Recently Sarah has personally found how Pilates makes a positive impact on pregnancy, labor, birth and being a new mom and is excited to share this with other women.

Jessica Arendt

Jessica is humbled by the power of yoga and the effects it can have on the human body and soul.  She was introduced to yoga through her prior practice in Pilates and has utilized yoga in her own life to help her through various medical and spiritual journeys.   She is a Registered Yoga Instructor through the Yoga Alliance and has taught students of all ages and levels.   She has 14 years of experience in Early Childhood Education and has taught trainings and workshops throughout the state of Oregon on topics related to ECE; including workshops on Yoga and Children and Yoga for Childcare Providers.

Tim Mossman

Tim began his introduction into physical fitness working with a personal trainer in New York City. He was inspired and got certified by the National Fitness Trainers Association. He worked as a personal trainer at several gyms in NYC and San Francisco. His wife, a yoga teacher, suggested he give Pilates a try and he has been hooked ever since. He received a certification from Power Pilates in Beverly Hills, CA and has been training clients since 2004.

Nikki Guerrero

Nikki found yoga through rehabilitation for a back injury in 1996 but it wasn't until she studied pilates that she felt she truly understood the strength and muscle control we could master through dedicated practice. In bringing balance to the core body she began to feel more balanced emotionally and spiritually in her everyday life. Although she has practiced pilates for several years she is new to teaching and is encouraged deeply by her students and their ability to transform. Nikki is also a certified water aerobics instructor and Nutrition Therapy Practitioner and works to bring lessons from both of these arenas onto the mat.

Brigid Flood

Brigid came to teaching yoga after waking up to the fact that time on the mat was her favorite part of the day, and she had always been drawn to teaching various subjects.  When, in 2003, she attended OM's teacher training with Cyndi Lee, she was certain that a life immersed in yoga was right for her. She strives to make her yoga classes deep, challenging and fun and accessible to all. She has studied with numerous notable teachers including Cyndi Lee, Rusty Wells, Brigitte Longueville, and Janet Stone. She also has a BFA from San Francisco State University. She roots her alignment-based teaching both in Buddhist philosophy and in Patanjali's, "yoga sutras" so that the physical practice manifests itself in a calm mental state that helps her students move through their daily lives with more equanimity. In class, she emphasizes correct alignment, deep work and intense relaxation so that the benefits and joys of yoga reveal themselves.

Joseph Boquiren

Joseph became acquainted with yoga in 2003 as a way to recover from competition. As a road and track cyclist, inline speedskater and short track speedskater, he looked to yoga as a way to recover both mentally and physically from hard racing. Since then, he has come to realize the more subltler and deeper aspects of yoga. Joseph has since incorporated yoga as part of his three-legged stool of personal practice which involves zazen (Zen meditation) hard physical training and yoga asanas. Yoga for Joseph is the latest step in an ongoing personal journey which began as a self-centered spoiled brat 10 year old emigrating to the shores of the United States in 1976 with the rest of his family. Joseph has slowly come to the realization that the only way to be truly happy was to think more about others and less about himself. He believes yoga helps with that. Joseph believes in injecting a little lighthearted humor in his classes. Yoga practiced with nothing but complete seriousness can become an unrelenting grind. To this end, he publishes Samadhi Pants, a weekly yoga comic that both reveres and pokes fun at yoga. A strip is shown below. Joseph looks forward to sharing your precious time with him on the mats. Namaste.

Allison Milionis

Allison Milionis discovered the beauty of the breath when she started a regular yoga practice in 1996 while working at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. In the beginning, it was a way for her to miss rush hour traffic but what she discovered was an entirely new way of breathing and moving through life. Her practice helped her through a rigorous graduate program at the University of California, Los Angeles, personal challenges, and her subsequent move to Portland. She credits yoga for giving her a sense of calm, strength, and the perseverance to handle what comes her way.  As a professional writer, she finds that yoga helps to quiet and focus her mind.   In 2009, Allison decided it was essential to share with others what she’d learned from her practice.  Having experimented with many lineages of yoga and studied with numerous wonderful teachers, Allison chose to study eclectic Hatha with Joy Wolfe, founder and teacher at PRANANDA, where she completed the 200+ Hour Teacher Training program. Allison’s goal is to help her students discover and celebrate the power of their own breath as they work through series of flowing movement with focused strengthening and balancing poses. Her love and knowledge of music is integrated into her practice as she blends an array of rhythms and sounds to enhance the experience on the mat.

Felicia Ferruzza

Felicia Ferruzza LAc is a Licensed Acupuncturist, Herbalist, and Diplomat of Oriental Medicine. She is a graduate of The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and also studied at The National College of Natural Medicine where she developed The Classical Chinese Herbal Medicinary. Her extensive Qigong and Tai Ji training includes both teaching programs at The National College of Natural Medicine and The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. Felicia practices medicine in Portland and Manzanita, Oregon. Tai Ji and Qi Gong are both ancient practices perfect for the modern world to help cultivate inner balance and move into physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Her class combines breath work, sound, and focused intention with movements that people of all physical levels can do.

Eliot Sitt

Eliot began learning traditional Tai Chi Chuan at Reed College in 2003 under instructor Dave Barrett. It was not until he ventured out into the 'real world' four years later with a degree in philosophy did he realize how lucky he was to have such an excellent teacher, one who studied directly under current master and direct Yang family descendant Master Yang Jun. Eliot continued his practice after graduating and began teaching in early 2009 in his hometown of Roseburg, Oregon. His love of tai chi helped him decide to pursue a master's degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, where he will begin studying this fall. He surmises that Tai Chi has helped keep him grounded and sane over the years and knows that it has often been a source of well-being and joy for him. Tai Chi requires no special equipment and can be taken wherever you go, and he hopes to share this privilege with his students. His classes guide students towards learning the entire 103-movement long form with a focus on establishing a strong foundation in solid footwork and an understanding of general Tai Chi principles. When he is not practicing Tai Chi, Eliot also likes playing music, yoga, za-zen meditation, and juggling.

Ben Shook

Ben has trained for the last 10 years with Steve Smith in Walla Walla, inheritor of the modern Kung Fu system, Yeung Chuan. Its originator, Fuek Yeung, is a master of the Chinese Opera, and one of Bruce Lee's first teachers. Ben has also trained in Portland with Sean Orlando in Xin Yi and T'ai Ch'i, and with Andrew Markell in Yi Quan. Ben brings great focus and energy to students and draws inspiration from many traditions, including Yoga, Kung Fu, Boxing, Ai Ki Do, and much time spent outdoors. His teaching methodology is a fusion which brings together an exciting combination of movement and provides access to many tools not commonly available to beginning students.